Like I Love You?
by dreamingofaboy
Summary: If there was one thing James and Lily had in common, it was the ardent desire to prove each other wrong. But in love's silly little game, which winner takes all?


**Like I love you?**

**Chapter 1: The calm before the storm **

"The most beautiful things can only be felt with the heart." Quoted Arabella, a petite raven haired girl who is in love with love, as she carefully balanced her book against a pitcher of pumpkin juice. Lily, a similarly petite redhead who is logical and responsible in all sense imaginable, looked up and wearily eyed the worn crimson cover of the book. It read "A Thousand Paths to Love." Lily rolled her eyes. Unfortunately for her, Arabella caught it. "There you go again!" scolded Arabella as she put her book aside.

Lily put on her most innocent face, "What?"

"There you go getting all cynical again."

Lily shrugged and half-smiled. "I'm not cynical. I'm just being realistic, is all." She defended.

Arabella shook her head but smiled too, "One day.........you'll see that love is everything that you never knew you always wanted, Lils."

Lily chuckled as she turned back to her food. "And one day, you'll stop being a cheesy and sentimental fool....."

"You're impossible....."

But before Lily was able to open her mouth to retort, Janine, the last part of the threesome who is characterized by her brilliant athletic capabilities and equally stunning good looks, which by the way, does not overshadow the looks of the two aforementioned girls, plopped down at her right and stopped her mid-way. Lily turned her attention at the newcomer and slightly winced as Janine's head landed with a soft thud on the table, barely missing the bowl of porridge.

"You better fix that." Said Arabella, pointing out the messy mound of tangled hair atop their sleeping friend's referred to as THE bed head.

"Right." Agreed Lily as she took out her wand and lightly tapped Janine's head whilst muttering a spell and taming the unruly hair.

Janine groaned and slowly sat up. She rubbed her eyes and then rested her elbow on the table, finally landing it smack-down in the middle of that darn bowl of porridge. "Ugh......." moaned Janine as she lifted her soaked elbow sleeve."This is all......" she began.

"Potter's fault." Arabella and Lily finished.

For the past few days, Janine has been very exhausted and sleepy and, usually, this kind of inattentiveness brought about accidents and scoldings from professors. And usually, this kind of exhaustion and drowsiness results from late night Quidditch practices which James Potter headed seeing as he's the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Naturally a perfectionist, as much as he hated to admit it, James Potter has trained his team doubly hard the past few days for the upcoming against Slytherin.

"Stupid git.....as if we can't win against those slime balls.....like to see him try to......" Janine continued to grumble as she roughly wiped the elbow of her sleeve.

Lily sighed and turned to Arabella, "What are we having today?" She asked.

"Transfiguration with the Slytherins." Arabella answered as she stood up and gathered her books.

"Joy......" said Janine sarcastically, apparently finished with her ranting and stood up too.

Standing up, Lily cradled her books on the nook of her arm and teased, "You sound excited."

"Ecstatic."

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"What are we doing here again?" Asked Remus in a loud a whisper. He slightly shifted his uncomfortable position as he carefully balanced James' weight, who was positioned on top of him. "James", grunted Remus, "next time I get to be on top."

Sirius snickered, "Did you know what that sounded like just now?"

"I don't want to know, Pad foot. Mind your own business and just keep watch will you?" hissed Remus.

"All done." Whispered James as he nimbly jumped from Remus' shoulders.

"Finally...." Sighed Remus as he rubbed his sore shoulders.

"Someone's coming!" Hissed Sirius.

James grabbed his invisibility cloak from the teacher's desk and instantly concealed himself and his friends from human eyes. Professor McGonagall walked through the door and stopped abruptly as if sensing that someone else was in the room. James held his breath as McGonagall slowly drew nearer and neared until she was just within a breath's reach, then she stopped and shook her head as if scolding herself for thinking such silly thoughts. James heaved a, quiet, breath of relief as he and his friends softly crept out of the Transfiguration classroom.

When they thought that they were at a safe enough distance, Sirius threw off the cloak and grinned. "I have never felt so alive!"

Remus raised an eyebrow as he smoothed out his uniform, "Only Sirius would say a thing like that after having such a close encounter with death."

James laughed and carefully folded his invisibility cloak. In a matter of minutes, chaos will ensue.


End file.
